Zutara Week 2016 Day 3: Memories
by MussTariaz
Summary: The seducing scent of food that is placed before them makes their stomachs rumble. But to him, the scent does way more than that.


**The story is set during the reign of the new Fire Lord: Fire Lord Lu Ten, Zuko and Katara's son. This is my first time participating in Zutara week. Hope you enjoy the story \\(^^)/**

The sun is heading back to rest under the horizon line, staining the sky with rays of oranges and yellows in the process. A pair of cerulean eyes studies nature's artwork keenly before a knock on the door interrupts him. His eyes searched for the source of the noise and finds a lady dressed in dark red "Dinner is ready, Your Highness" she announces.

When he nears the dining hall, he spots two other people gathering around the table and a small smile paints his visibly exhausted face. His feet, as if already trained to do so, search for the woman whose oval face is framed with hundreds of silver strands peeking through her ink coloured hair, whose thin eyebrows arch gracefully above her honey coloured orbs, and whose sweet smile makes his heart skip a beat since the moment he first saw her until this day. When he finds a place next to her, his gaze travels across the dining table and meets a much younger woman wearing a gleeful smile on her face. She is a spitting image of her mother and the only thing that betrays that is her ocean blue eyes.

Soon enough, the army of servants enter the dining room with various delicacies and quickly set them on the mahogany table. Their seducing scent replaces exhaustion with hunger. But to him, the scent does more than making his stomach rumble.

Back then, Mother Nature also painted the sky with magnificent colours as he relieved his hunger with the same food that is sitting in front of him right now. His gaze travels from the food to scan the surroundings once again. Disappointment tugs at his heart when he cannot find the intense gaze of the man who had tasted the bitterest parts of life, but, later rose to become a respected figure, sitting across from him. His eyes naturally travel to the space where he expected to find two gentle cerulean orbs that are similar to his own, only to be disappointed once again when it is his wife instead that he sees. Not that he does not love his wife; he loves her so much it could be a sin. And at this point, he dare not hope to see his playful yet charismatic twin sister sitting next to him. Although she still walks the earth today, she is travelling across the four nations as a World Ambassador, a role she took after their father had passed. She has been so occupied that she has not visited in awhile.

 _Right. . . it has been that long since that day_ , he muses.

When the sun has fully illuminate the sky with its bright rays, a tall and lean figure who does not let old age to slow down his steps, passes through an intricately decorated stone arch that stands on a grassy hill overlooking the ocean. Soon thereafter, he stands before two stone monuments guarded by different types of lilies; their sweet scent fills the area when the wind passes by. He places a bouquet of flowers on each of the monument and he averts his gaze to the writing carved onto each one of them:

 _Here rests Lord Zuko – son of the banished Lord Ozai and Princess Ursa, husband of Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, Father of Fire Lord Lu Ten and Princess Kya, master Firebender, the young war hero, world ambassador – the unifier of the four nations and the Great Lord of the Fire Nation._

 _Here rests Lady Katara – daughter of Chief Hakoda and Lady Kya of the Southern Water Tribe, consort of Lord Zuko, mother of Fire Lord Lu Ten and Princess Kya, master Waterbender and healer, the young war hero, Grandmaster of the White Lotus Society– the innovator and the Great Mother of the Fire Nation._

A bitter smile curls up his lips.

So many days have been replaced by nights, and vice versa, since his parents have gone to the Spirit World. Yet the comforting words of his late father still echo in his ears from time to time, the soothing smile of his late mother is still etched on his mind, and the thrilling spars he had with both of them still make his heart jump in excitement every time he recalls them. More memories that are far too many to list are waiting to wash over him as he stands before the only physical remnants of his dearests.

"Hello, father and mother. I've missed you."


End file.
